Prediction of Long Term Corrosion Behaviour in Nuclear Waste Systems (EFC 36) PDF

Preface

The planned duration of isolation ofhigh level nuclear waste from the ecosphere is of the order of 10 000years, which is further into the future than recorded human history is in the past. The reliable prediction of container degradation rate and engineered barrier integrity over this extended period represents one of the greatest scientific and technical challenges that the world has had to face. Clearly, the reliability and viability of integrity predictions, which cannot be easily tested, are of paramount importance in assuring the public that safe disposal can be achieved.

The international workshop entitled "Prediction ofLongTermCorrosion Behaviour in Nuclear Waste Systems" (EFCevent 256) was held at Cadarache (France), on 26- 29 November 2001.Its purpose was to bring together scientists and engineers from various countries that are developing High Level Nuclear Waste (HLNW) disposal technologies, with the goal ofpromoting scientificand technical exchange concerning the long term behaviour of metallic materials. In particular, the workshop sought to compare the scientific and experimental approaches that are being developed in various organisations worldwide for predicting long term corrosion phenomena, as related to nuclear waste management, including corrosion strategies for interim storage and geological disposal. The systems what are of primary interest include waste canisters, near-field engineered barriers for geological disposal (including the nature, evolution, and influence of corrosion products), and storage infrastructures. The workshop addressed these issues in four sections, comprising:

• R&D corrosion programmes;
• Laboratory and in situ testing;
• Historical and archaeological analogues; and
• Fundamental issues: models and prediction

- all of which are reported in these proceedings

Edited by: Damian Féron Digby, D. Macdonald